Monday, October 25, 2010
A typical meze tray will consist of:

a large slab of beyaz peynir (white cheese-feta) cut in 1" thick slices, usually served with turkish olives, olive oil and oregano
acili ezme - a dark red, thick pepper puree often with walnuts
haydari- a thick yogurt that cools the palette of the spicy ezme
patlican salatasi - eggplant salad - roasted eggplants chopped and blended with garlic-a puree)
kalamar - fried calamari or grilled calamari served with wedges of lemon
enginar - artichoke hearts - tender and served with vinaigrette, peas and lemons
dolma - stuffed grape leaves - usually stuffed with rice or ground meat (kirema) and a myriad of spices
havuc salatasi- sliced and steamed until tender and served in a thick yogurt with lots of garlic - served cold
pastirma - slices of air dried and cured beef
rocket salad (arugula) - with a simple dressing of olive oil, lemon and a touch of salt
patates kizartma - the Turks make some darn cool fries...generally speaking they are crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside.
deniz borulcesi- looks like seaweed, tastes like seaweed...hey, it is seaweed but surprisingly delicious- always served with a pungent and tangy vinaigrette
hamsi - anchovies - one of the Bosphorus's specialities
barbunya - a zeytinyagli (any vegetable/bean dish that is sauteed and then simmered with olive oil and tomatoes) made of romano beans
tursu - pickled herring, another Bosphorus speciality
cigara borek - these are dangerous...soooo cool, you can't have one. Yufka (thin pastry) cut in to triangles, filled with a cheese mixture and rolled up in to the shape of a cigar. Then deep-fried until they turn a golden brown and the cheese is melted and scrumptious...(can't you tell these are my weakness?)
fried eggplant - thinly sliced eggplant is deep-fried and then topped with tomato and yogurt and garlic- heavenly!
mucver - fried patties that are made of cabak (zucchini, squash) egg & flour
cacik - yogurt watered down with a touch of olive oil and lots of garlic and finely chopped cucumber (salatalik)
coban salata - the ideal salad: cucumbers, vine-ripened tomatoes, parsley, olives, salt & pepper. A drizzle of olive oil, vinegar (or pomegranate sauce - nar)

Of course with all of these scrumptious meze you need to sop up the sauces left on your plate, so, on second thought, pass the bread basket. keep in mind that meze are fundamentally appetizers, so you will need to save room for your entree, coffee and dessert. It is of course acceptable to stick to the meze and order more in lieu of a main course. Keep in mind, most of these dishes (minus my favourite fried ones) are super healthy, so eat up and enjoy.

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